Croatia on the Forefront of Medical Cannabis

Croatia is writing medical marijuana history. New progressive cannabis laws and the first ever shipment of legal cannabis from America to Europe put Croatia on the forefront of medical cannabis.

Croatia is a small country, but it is making big steps towards the legalization of cannabis for medical uses. It was just some months ago that we wrote about how Croatia’s Health Minister announced that medical cannabis would become available in the nation’s pharmacies by the end of 2015. Croatia is now fast-tracking its steps on the way to the forefront of progressive cannabis laws.

CROATIA’S FAST STEPS TO MEDICAL CANNABIS LEGALIZATION

Back In 2014, Croatia put in place a committee that had been tasked with studying the use and the medical benefits of medical marijuana. The aim of the project was to decide whether or not the nation should legalize the use of medical cannabis.

Medical experts in the committee looked at scientific cannabis research and current marijuana laws in other countries. The commission concluded that there was enough evidence to recommend the legalization of medical cannabis.

This was only the first step on Croatia’s way to legalize medical marijuana use. From there on, things progressed quickly.

Just a few months later, Croatia passed new laws and thus became the first Balkan country that legalized the use of medical cannabis.

With those new laws, it is now possible for doctors in Croatia to prescribe cannabis products such as cannabis teas or ointments for those patients who qualify.

With their quick acting and instating of medical cannabis laws without any big delays, together with a positive attitude towards the health potential of cannabis, Croatia stands out among other countries.

Obviously, there is still some ways to go for a broader legalization of medical cannabis use in Croatia. Smoking of cannabis bud is still not allowed and the list of qualifying health conditions is still rather small.

One of the challenges on Croatia’s way to the legalization of cannabis had been how to get medical cannabis. The nation itself doesn’t have any producers of cannabis products so they needed to look elsewhere.

This past June 10th marked a historic moment when the village of Groznjan made the announcement of the first ever shipment of legal cannabis from a medical cannabis company in Canada. For Croatia’s medical cannabis scene, this was a true milestone. It was also the first time ever that a company legally shipped a cannabis product containing active THC and CBD into the EU.

The arrival of the shipment not only allowed Croatia to make medical cannabis available to patients. Together with their new laws, it represents the nation’s big steps towards the forefront of medical cannabis.

Croatia demonstrates how the legalization of cannabis as medicine doesn’t require lengthy delays. It is to hope that other nations may follow Croatia’s example in fast-tracking the legalization of medical cannabis.

Written by: Georg Based in Spain, Georg spends a lot of his time not only geeking out at his computer but in his garden as well. With a burning passion for growing cannabis and researching psychedelics, Georg is well versed in all things psychoactive.